To say that modern conservatism has failed egregiously in our school systems would be a monumental understatement. As a survivor of the Nebraska Public K-12 education system, I witnessed firsthand how deep and depraved the left was willing to be to win the war for the most vulnerable minds imaginable: children and young adults.
In 2017, my high school paper asked me to write a piece regarding race relations. As a seventeen-year-old, I recognized what we now know to be the Marxist group, Black Lives Matter, were a violent and hostile group of radicals who sought to tear at the social fabric of this country. For pointing out that simple fact, a teacher with whom I had never had class sought me out to lecture me about how white sins of the past justified acts of violence today.
I regret nothing that I wrote for publication that day. But I do regret one thing: shrugging off the confrontation and moving on. I thought to myself, “it doesn’t mean that much, it’s just one teacher, I’m going to graduate in a year, what’s it really worth?” Well, as time has moved on, it’s now clear that those confrontations mean everything. If students don’t speak up about teachers forcing their left-wing politics and talking points on their students, then there is no boundary to what they will push.
I am now the Student Body and Student Senate President at Wayne State College in Nebraska. This past week, the Nebraska State College System adopted new policies that allow for students to be punished by the Title IX office for “misgendering” someone or participating in “innuendo” about a “protected social class.” The State College System Board, whose members are appointed by the governor, passed these changes. Only two brave men: Bob Engles, and Jason Zeiss, had the courage to stand up to this obvious disregard for basic human rights on our campuses.
One of the adopted policies disallows faculty or staff to enforce gendered bathroom rules on campus. When the majority of the public testified in the meeting against the proposed rule, referencing the recent incidents in Loudoun County, Virginia, a student trustee remarked, “I can see where the concern about the bathroom safety is coming from, but frankly, there’s just a larger picture” and that “right now, we need to focus on diversity, inclusion, and equity.” There’s a larger picture than the ability for women to use the restroom without fear of a biological man following closely behind her? I don’t think so.
Wayne State Student Senator and campus tour guide, Kyle Jedlicka told the board: “I give about 3 tours a week, and about once every week, I am asked by the mothers and fathers of young women if we have bathroom policies like that on this campus. Before, I have been able to answer: ‘no, it is safe to use the restroom here.’ Should this policy pass, I won’t be able to answer that way honestly any longer.”
That testimony fell on deaf ears. The board passed the resolution 4-2. This all occurring in deep red, rural Nebraska, no less. The members who voted in the affirmative are all safe from being replaced by the Governor until at least 2023.
None of the members who voted for Board Policy 5007 or 5012 will have to live with the consequences of their actions. Additionally, they were unwilling to even consult the full student or faculty senates from any of their member schools before forcing these radical policies down the students’ throats.
Opportunity exists right now for conservatives to stand up to these deeply unpopular, radical, and dangerous policies. We must make our education system in elementary, secondary, and even college a safe place for children to learn. This is a debate we cannot afford to lose.
Conservatives must speak out in their city councils, in their school board meetings, in their board of trustees and board of regents meetings. Don’t be afraid to challenge the incompetent public servant for the job that they are failing at. When they surrender their duty to advocate on behalf of the public, they have lost all credibility as a public servant. We must challenge and fill those voids.
Blake Aspen is the Student Senate and Student Body President at Wayne State College. Blake is active in local and statewide politics in Nebraska and interned for Congressman Adrian Smith in his Washington, D.C. office.